Black Mesa: The Invasion
by GordonFreemanII
Summary: Part 1 of a series depicting the Half-life universe. This one depicts the story of Gordon Freeman, a theoretical physicist, in Black Mesa, amongst other people. Please rate, review, etc. I may do the other related series.
1. Welcome To Black Mesa

Black Mesa: Invasion

Chapter 1: Introduction

**Authors Note: Consider this the v2 of my fan fiction about half-life. Bold text is dialogue. Bracketed text is stage directions. In case you failed to figure it out, yes, this meant to be a book-movie hybrid. I do this in memory of the obviously dead half-life movie fan-fiction. R.I.P. When this is done, the first one will be deleted.**

_[Camera view pans over a dam, followed by a cliff, and through a hallway, where a few scientists walked down the hallway. Heavy rock music plays in the background. Camera blacks out to title logo, a single lambda logo. The camera zooms to the tiles reading "Black Mesa" before fading to black.]_

_[A man walks over to a nearby tram station, waiting. His cell phone rings. It has an evil-sounding ringtone. He pulls it out, and answers. The man's name is Barney Calhoun.]_

Calhoun (Into cell phone): **Hello. Who is this?**

_[The voice of a 27-year old male comes over the phone. His name is Gordon Freeman.]_

Gordon: **It's Gordon. Where are you?**

Calhoun: **Waiting for the tram. You?**

Gordon: **Same. You know, I think I missed the train.**

Calhoun: **Yeah, by an hour.**

Gordon: **Next time I oversleep, punch me in the chest until I wake up.**

Calhoun: **Noted. You know, besides the fact that I'm going to be a security guard, nobody's told me shit about this place. Where are we, again?**

Gordon: (Sigh)** Black Mesa Research Facility, stationed in New Mexico. Are you stupid, or did you lose the job info brochure? **

Calhoun**: Probably.**

Gordon**: This facility is one of the latest government-owned research facilities, currently running research in weapons, alien specimens, even more restricted research…**

Calhoun: **I'm sorry; you lost me after "New Mexico".**

Gordon Freeman: **Well, I can't give you a blow by blow. You'd have to talk to a security chief about that.**

_[A tram started rolling down the track.]_

Barney Calhoun: **Whatever. I have to go. My train's here. Talk to you later.**

Freeman**: Yeah. Bye.**

_[Barney hung up and got on the tram. Dr. Green's pre-recorded voice came in over the intercom.]_

Intercom: **Hello, and welcome to the Black Mesa Research Facility tram for Security Officers. The time is: 8:42 A.M. Current recorded topside temperature is: 93 degrees, with a pre-estimated high of: 105. Thankfully, the Black Mesa Research Facility is maintained at a pleasant 68 degrees at all times. If you wish to transfer to the high-security section of the tram, you can do so before you reach the area 9 platform. Please remember to have your level 2 security pass I.D at all times.**

_[The tram rolled to various places, ranging from an eating area to a commons area, until it rolled to a stop at the security checkpoint. An extremely fat security guard lumbered over to the tram, while a somewhat skinnier guard stood watch at the controls.]_

Security Guard 1: **Why is this damn button flashing?**

Security 2: **Don't ask me, you're the damn electrical guy.**

Security 1: **With friends like you…man!**

Security 2: **Glad you showed up on time, Calhoun.**

Calhoun**: So, where in this forsaken hellhole am I going?**

Security 1: **Sector C. Enjoy.**

_[He pushed buttons, and the tram began to descend into the darkness.]_

Security 2: **Have a good one, Calhoun!**

Intercom: **This train is now transferring to the sector C Checkpoint. Please have your Security I.D and C-level clearance pass on your person at all times. Do not attempt to leave the train until it comes to a stop at the security checkpoint.**

_[Eventually, it came to a stop at the security checkpoint, and let Barney off. He walked off the train, and swiped his pass I.D through the yellow door slot. ]_

[Access Denied]

_[It gave off a denial sound. Barney angrily pounded the door, causing it to beep again. He repeatedly started to pound on the door.]_

Meanwhile….

_[A female scientist by the name of Dr. Green slowly woke up, and quickly made her breakfast, then quickly got out of her night robe, and into a stark-white metallic suit. The suit's communication interface greeted her as she finished putting it on.]_

Suit: **Welcome, Dr. Gina Cross, to the HEV Mark V Prototype, for use in hazardous environment conditions. All systems are go. Today is May 20, 2001. Current topside temperature is: 93 degrees, with estimated high of 105. Internal temperature is 68 degrees, as always.**

_[With a yawn, Dr. Cross grabbed her morning coffee and started walking down the hallway, when another female scientist caught up to her.]_

_[She appeared to be in her 40s, with long hair tied into a bun, also wearing a red HEV suit. Her name was Dr. Green.]_

Dr. Green: **Hey, Gina. Did you catch Dr. Freeman at Orientation?**

Dr. Cross: **Yeah. [**Puts on a shy tone] **I think he's kind of cute.**

_[Dr. Green stopped abruptly, thought about slapping Dr. Cross, then thought better.]_

Dr. Green: [In a mildly annoyed tone]** you have got to be *kidding* me. He looks disgruntled at best. Although I will admit that he is worth mentioning. He had the best time in the Hazard Course Decathlon.**

Dr. Cross: **Certainly. I hope he likes orange suits. Also, why does this job require waking up so early?**

Dr. Green: **If you don't like it, find another job. Anyways, Dr. Keller wants us in his office right away.**

Dr. Cross: **Another day, another boring experiment with the Anti-Mass machine.**

Elsewhere…..

_[Gordon Freeman caught another tram inbound for the Anomalous Materials Laboratory. Gordon looked to his left to see Barney pound angrily on the door. Gordon couldn't help but let a grin spread across his face.]_

Intercom: **Hello, and welcome to the Black Mesa Research Facility. The time is 8:47 A.M. Current Topside temperature is 93 degrees, with an estimated high of 105. The Black Mesa Facility is maintained at a pleasant 68 degrees at all times.**

_[While the intercom put out its string of messages, he looked out over the facility. Large missiles were being stored. Later, he noticed a VIP and his bodyguard being escorted into the facility via an Apache Helicopter. ]_

Gordon: (To Himself) **Well, aren't we the fancy ones.**

_[As the tram neared the labs, Gordon couldn't help but notice a man in a dark blue suit straightening his tie. His face looked like it was made of stone.]_

_[Eventually, the tram rolled to a halt. A security guard walked over to the tram and opened it.]_

Security 3: **Good Morning, Dr. Freeman. Looks like you're running late.**

Gordon**: How observant.**

Meanwhile….

_[Barney finally quit his arm numb from pounding on the door.]_

_[The voice of another security guard came from the other side of the door.]_

Security 4: **Hold on. The door's not responding to your pass I.D. Let me see if I can open it from here.**

_[After a minute, the door made a final [ping] noise and opened.]_

Barney: (Sarcastically)** Thanks for being prompt in responding.**

Security 4: **Sorry about that, Calhoun. We've been having access problems all over the facility today. Security lock down, password malfunctions. It's a wonder this goddamn place hasn't shut down yet.**

Barney: **Sounds like the maintenance division would rather hang themselves from the rail line than put in a requisition for replacement parts.**

Security 4: (Laughs) **Yeah. I'd say so. I'm Security Chief Gutierrez. First off, go and put on your uniform, grab your sidearm, then report to the lobby for orders.**

Barney: **Yes, sir! **

Gutierrez: **Have a good one, Calhoun.**

_[Barney walked over to the lift, which lead to the upper levels. He took a right to Camera Surveillance. Inside were a number of camera views. In the first one, he could see Gordon arrive at the main desk at the Anomalous Materials laboratories.]_

_[Zoom into the camera to Anomalous Materials.]_

_[Gordon walked up to the front desk.]_

Gordon: **Sorry for being late. I missed the train.**

**[A security guard turned around, and looked at him with a smug look at him.]**

Security 5**: Yeah. And the one after that, and the one after that, and the one after that. Trams go by every 15 minutes. The only reason you're not fired is that I can't even log in. We had a system crash 20 minutes ago. I can't even access my files. Anyways, I was told to make sure you head right on down and get your hazard suit before going to work today.**

_[Gordon walked past a phone when it started to ring. He quickly picked it up. Barney was on the other end.]_

Barney: **Hey, what's up?**

Gordon: **Not much. A system crash is the only thing that shielded me from being fired.**

Barney: **On the first day? **

Gordon: **Yep. I'll also guess the system issues are also the reason you were pounding on the door like a vending machine stealing your money.**

Barney: **Yeah. Nice to know someone pays attention. I was banging on that door for 10 minutes before the security chief opened it for me. Also,** (In a bragging tone) **I know something you don't.**

Gordon: **Okay, I'll bite. What?**

Barney: **I found your info brochure. Apparently, you get to work with the developers of the HEV suit and Anti-Mass Spectrometer you'll be working with. Dr. Cross and Dr. Green. I hear Dr. Cross is single. You sly dog.**

Gordon: **Don't get me started. How late are you?**

Barney**: I think, not as late as you. **

Gordon**: I have to go for my experiment, now. I'll talk to you later.**

Barney**: Yeah. Bye.**

_[Gordon hung up, and walked down the hallway. The Man in Dark Blue was chatting with a scientist. Gordon managed to catch some of the conversation through the glass. The scientist had dark skin, and a light build.]_

MIDB: **I believe that this sample should exceed our employers' expectations, don't you?**

Scientist: **Well, I'm not sure….How pure is it?**

MIDB**: It does not matter. Administrator Breen has…..gone to great lengths to acquire this sample, at great costs. I could only imagine what would happen if you refused.**

_[Thick beads of sweat began to appear on the scientist's skin.]_

Scientist: **I don't like it. A sample this pure and unstable brings about a strong risk for a resonance cascade scenario. For the benefit of the people in this facility, the administrator included, I must beg that we not experiment on this sample.**

MIDB**: I would think not. My…..employers would find it most unsatisfying. You *will* run this test. **

**Scientist: Or…..**

MIDB: **…Or prepare for unforeseen consequences.**

_[The MIDB walked down the hallway, giving Gordon a dark sneer as he left. The scientist stood there, his eyes showing true fear. ]_

Gordon**: Hey, are you alright?**

_[The scientist snapped out of it, and turned to see Gordon.]_

Scientist: **Huh? Oh, yes, I'm fine. Probably the government wanted to harass me about some sample we got. **

Gordon: **What's so special about it?**

Scientist: **It's none of your business. Let me get you a drink. **

Gordon: **Not until you explain what has you so spooked. You looked like death just gave you a 1 week notice.**

_[The scientist stopped, looked around to make sure nobody else was around, and whispered.]_

Scientist: **There are some things around here are best not speaked of. There's secret, top secret, there's talk and we blow your head off, then there's these things. **

Gordon: **Right. Hey, I haven't introduced myself yet. I'm Gordon Freeman.**

Scientist: **Yes, yes, I've heard about you. Latest one so far (With a grin) I'm Eli Vance. It's good to meet you. Now, how about that drink?**

Gordon: **Sounds good to me. **

_[Dr. Freeman and Dr. Vance walk down to the eating area, where a mildly annoyed Dr. Magnusson sat, his microwave casserole was cooking in the oven.]_

_[Freeman and Vance walk over to the soda machine. Vance takes out a quarter and puts it in the machine. When he pushes the button, nothing happens.]_

Vance: **Damn! Sorry, but it looks like you'll have to go without. We've got coffee, if you want it.**

_[Gordon simply walked over to the machine, and punched the same button in 5 times. The machine popped, and 3 sodas fell out.]_

Dr. Vance: **Lucky. Hey, Magnusson, you want a soda?**

Dr. Magnusson**: Leave me alone.**

Dr. Freeman: **Didn't have your coffee yet?**

Dr. Vance: **Don't mind him. He's a grumpy old scientist. Hey, let's play a quick prank on him. I want you to** _[Whisper],_ **okay?**

_[Dr. Freeman went over to the microwave and set it to high. Dr. Magnusson noticed and ran over to it, pushing Dr. Freeman out of the way. Just at that moment, the casserole exploded, sending meat chunks everywhere.]_

Magnusson**: Freeman! You….I'll get you for this.**

_[Dr. Magnusson cast an angry look then grumbled back to his seat.]_

Dr. Vance: **Before you start, let me introduce you to a friend.**

_[They walked down to the personnel areas. A scientist tied his shoes, and straightened his tie.]_

Dr. Vance: **This is Dr. Kleiner. You know, the man who….**

Dr. Freeman: **Yes, I know who he is. **

Dr. Kleiner: **Hello, Dr. Freeman. It's nice to see you showed up today. **

Dr. Freeman: **I hope this job will be a good one.**

Dr. Kleiner: **That's good to hear, especially since without me, you wouldn't be here. By the way, any idea why we have to wear these ridiculous ties?**

Dr. Freeman :( Laughs)** I guess you don't like status symbols.**

Dr. Vance: **I'll take care of this. Your suit is over there, to the left. We'll see you in the labs.**

_[Dr. Vance and Dr. Kleiner leave. Dr. Freeman opens the cage and straps on his orange HEV suit.]_

HEV Suit (Freeman): **Welcome, Dr. Freeman, to the HEV Mach IV Protective System, for use in hazardous environment conditions. **

**[High-Impact Reactive Armor Systems Online.**

**Automatic Medical Systems Engaged.**

**Power Lift Systems are GO.**

**Universal Communication Interface Online.**

**Have a very safe day.]**

_[Gordon stepped out of the personnel area, and started walking towards the Anomalous Materials laboratories.]_

Meanwhile…..

_[Barney walked over to the personnel areas, and strapped on his uniform: A stainless-steel helmet and Kevlar vest. The Black Mesa logo was emblazoned on the vest. He took the lift down, and went over to the armory. Half of the booths were filled with Security officers taking practice shots at the range.]_

_[He walked over to the guard at the desk, who was reading a gun magazine.]_

Security 6: **Good for you to show up on time today, Calhoun.**

Barney: **Yeah. I'm here to pick up my sidearm.**

Security 6**: Do you want a Glock 18, or the M9?**

Calhoun**: Didn't even know I had a choice in the matter? 9mm?**

Security 6: **You bet. I'll start you off with the M9. Here you go.**

_[He handed Calhoun a Beretta M9 9mm pistol. It had a shining finish, almost mint condition. It was chambered and loaded with 9mm ammunition.]_

Security 6_**: I know you're not set to go to the range for a while, but if you want to take a few practice shots, there's plenty of room.**_

_[Barney walked down to the range, thought about taking a few shots, then grabbed the 9mm clips from the empty benches and went to the lobby.]_

_[Next to the lobby, a scientist complained to a security guard.]_

Scientist 2: **I can't access my files, I can't answer my mail. I haven't even been able to get into my office. What are you morons doing, having a picnic?**

Security 7: **We know, sir, we know. We're doing all we can to fix the problem. Just give us some to….**

Scientist 2: **Time? I don't have any more time! If I'm not able to deliver my report to the administrator in the next hour, my job will be in serious risk. I'll make sure mine is not the only one.**

_[The scientist angrily stomped away like a 16-year-old girl.]_

_[The guard at the front desk noticed Barney.]_

Security 8**: Nice of you to show up this morning. Looks like some scientists are having problems with the lift in Sector G. Why don't you head over there, and see what you can do.**

Barney: **At least it'll give me something to do.**

_[Calhoun walked through the checkpoint, and onto a tram bound to Sector G.]_

Meanwhile….

_[Dr. Cross and Dr. Green walk into the control office. Dr. Keller, a man in his 50s, riding in an electric wheelchair, rolled up to the Drs.]_

Dr. Keller: **Ah, hello, Dr. Cross and Dr. Green. It's nice to see someone show up on time today. Dr. Freeman is running late. Again. Honestly, I do not understand what Kleiner sees in that boy. Anyways, while Dr. Freeman is running gamma experiments downstairs, you will assist, Dr. Cross. As for Dr. Green….**

_[A graying scientist walks over to Dr. Keller via the elevator.]_

Dr. Keller**: Hello, Dr. Rosenberg. We're kind of in the middle of something right now.**

Dr. Rosenberg**: I've talked to Harold. He seems to be under the impression that you plan to run the Anti-Mass Spectrometer greater than 90%. There is a reason for the safety buffer, you know.**

Dr. Keller**: I understand your concern, but the Administrator made it quite clear that…..**

Dr. Rosenberg: **The administrator is a bureaucrat, not a scientist! I did not design this equipment to run at this intensity!**

Dr. Keller: **Enough! If you want to monitor the experiment, be my guest. Otherwise, just go back to your little lab over by the train yards.**

_[Dr. Rosenberg's shoulders sagged in disappointment.]_

Dr. Keller**: Dr. Cross, the sample storage area is through here. Dr. Green, we need you in the test chamber.**

_[Two doors opened up.]_

_[Dr. Cross and Dr. Green walked into their respective chambers. Dr. Cross walked over to the machine's control level, finding a crowbar on the ground.]_

_[Dr. Green took the other door, down to the sample delivery system.]_

_[A scientist watched from a glass booth.]_

Scientist #3: **Hello, Dr. Green. Would you be so kind as to push the cart into the delivery system so we can begin the experiment?**

_[Dr. Green nodded, and then pushed the cart into the delivery lift. The lift began to rise up, and then fell down.]_

Scientist #3: **What now?**

**[It rose and fell two more times.]**

Sci #3: **This can't be happening….**

_[It rose and fell again….]_

Sci #3: **No, theoretically, this can't happen…**

_[It fell again.]_

Scientist #3: **Right. Something must be jammed. See if there's anything interfering with the lift machinery in the test chamber. I'll see if I can make it work from here.**

**This Concludes Chapter 1. Chapters 2-5 should be released shortly. Please review, comment, hate, flame, love, etc!**


	2. Unforeseen Consequences

Chapter 2:…Unforeseen Consequences

_[Dr. Green checked inside. She quickly yanked it out as it moved down, then all the way up.]_

_[Dr. Cross talked to her from the floor above.]_

Dr. Cross: **What's up with the crowbars? Construction team getting sloppy? **

Dr. Green: **Oh, well. I like souvenirs.**

Intercom (Dr. Keller): **Good. We'd like you to bring the Anti-Mass Spectrometer online and take it to 80%.**

_[Dr. Cross walked over to the controls and pulled the big red lever. A loud whine erupted, follow by beams of energy emitting from the Anti-Mass Spectrometer. ]_

_Meanwhile….._

_[Dr. Freeman reached the lower level control room. 3 Scientists were chatting.]_

Scientist #4: **Ah, there are you are, Dr. Freeman.**

Scientist #5: **We just had the sample sent down the test chamber.**

Scientist #6: **The administrator wants a thorough report on this specimen. He went to considerable lengths to obtain it.**

Scientist #4: **They're waiting in the test chamber.**

_[Scientist #6 walked over to the far end of the room, and looked into a retinal scanner. 5 Seconds later, the door opened up. As he walked down the hall, a computer bank overloaded, causing a panel to explode, showering debris everywhere. Dr. Kleiner and Dr. Vance quickly ran over to the bank and shut it down.]_

Dr. Vance: **What the hell is going on with our equipment? It wasn't meant to do this in the first place.**

_[Gordon ignored it, and entered a corkscrew elevator to the test labs.]_

_[Two scientists were waiting for him.]_

Scientist #7: **Ah, yes. Dr. Freeman. I'm afraid to tell you that we'll be deviating from standard protocol. **

Scientist #8: **Yes, but for good reason. This is a rare opportunity for us, the purest sample we've seen yet.**

Scientist #7: **Also, the most potentially unstable.**

Scientist #8: **We've assured the Administrator that *nothing will go wrong*.**

Scientist #7: **How you can say that, I will never know. Although I will admit, the possibility of a resonance cascade scenario is highly unlikely.**

Dr. Freeman: **Resonance Cascade?**

Scientist #7: Y**ou've never heard? Basically, forced alien visitation and the blood and the…..**

Scientist #8: **Enough of that. Gordon is a highly trained professional, remember?**

Scientist #7: **Ah, yes. Gordon, we have complete confidence in you.**

Scientist #8:** Time to let him in.**

_[The scientists used their separate retinal scanners, and the bulkhead doors slid open, opening into an orange room. In the center of the room was the Anti-Mass Spectrometer, a massive device holding the sample: A large yellow crystal. A ladder led up to some basic controls.]_

Intercom (Scientist): **Alright, Gordon. The system is ready. We can begin the experiment. Simply climb up, and start the rotors. We will take care of the rest.**

_[Dr. Freeman went up the ladder, and pulled the power switch for the rotors.]_

_[The machine began to spin. Attached to it were 3 pods attached by metal wires.]_

Intercom (Scientist):** Good. We'll take it from here. Power to Stage 1 Emitters in 3, 2, 1.**

_[A yellow ray shot out of the main device, splashing on the sample in the room's center.]_

Intercom (Scientist): **Hmm. Standard phazer rays. Secondary Emitters in 3, 2, 1.**

_[The pods orbiting the Anti-Mass Spectrometer fired more yellow beams at the crystal.]_

Intercom (Scientist): **Power at 105%. We don't know how long the system will hold, or how long it'll take. Please work as quickly as you can. It would appear the sample is ready, Gordon. It should come up any second now. Look to the delivery system for your specimen.**

_[A cart carrying another yellow crystal rose up.]_

Intercom (Scientist): **Good. Simply roll the cart into the analysis port.**

_[Dr. Freeman began to roll the cart towards the beam.]_

_Meanwhile…_

_[Dr. Cross and Dr. Green monitored the stress levels.]_

_[Crack]_

Intercom (Scientist):** Gordon! Get away from the beam!**

Intercom (Keller): **Shut it down, now!**

_[Dr. Cross quickly set the dial to 0 and pulled the power lever. Nothing happened.]_

Dr. Green: **Any time, Gina!**

Dr. Cross: **I'm trying. It's not responding!**

Scientist (Intercom): **Attempting shutdown…It's not shutting down!**

_[The machine began to explode, the concussion knocking Dr. Cross, Dr. Green, and Dr. Freeman unconscious.]_

Meanwhile…

_[Barney finally arrives at the sector G lift.]_

Scientist #9: **It's about time! We don't pay you people to lollygag at your own convenience. Make this work, so we can get on with this miserable day.**

_[Barney examined the wires. He pulled a red wire, and jammed it into the main calibrator, then pushed the transfer button. It started with a jolt.]_

Barney : (Angrily) Why couldn't you have done that?

Scientist #10: **We hadn't grounded ourselves yet.**

Barney: **For crying out loud. You're not installing a computer part.**

_[The tram descended 2 levels before stopping for a second.]_

Scientist #9: **Probably those Anomalous Materials people again. Look at them. Performing experiments on god knows what, handling creatures, nitpicking. I'd be surprised if there's one good brain amongst them.**

Calhoun: **As a matter of fact….**

_[The tram descended to the bottom, then stopped abruptly. The fuse box exploded, killing Scientist #10.]_

_[Barney cautiously drew his Beretta M9, and watched helplessly. Alien creatures began to feast on the personnel in the base. He saw strange, ham-shaped creatures, and scaly brown-skinned creatures that shot lightning bolts.]_

_[Suddenly, the elevator cable snapped, sending Barney and the Scientist to crash at the bottom of the shaft, the crash crushing the scientist under a pile of debris. The last thing Barney saw before passing out was a ham-shaped alien gnawing at a nearby Security Guard.]_

_**Meanwhile…..**_

_[Dr. Cross slowly got up and surveyed her surroundings. The Anti-Mass Spectrometer was busted beyond easy repair. Most of the facility was in the same condition. She quickly ran over to Dr. Green. Her ears were dripping blood.]_

Suit (Dr. Green): **Warning: Moderate Concussion Detected. Automatic Medical System Malfunction: Unable to properly treat. Emergency Medical Assistance Required.**

_[Dr. Cross quickly took out some Morphine and a general stimulant, and began to apply first aid.]_

Intercom (Dr. Rosenburg): **Dr. Keller! All you alright? Everyone's dead!**

Intercom (Keller): **Never mind that. We've got ourselves a resonance cascade!**

Intercom (Rosenburg) : **We have to get everyone out of here. Clean the base. Call for help. Something!**

Intercom (Keller): **I know. We have to deal with the problem. With any luck, Dr. Cross and Dr. Green may have survived. I'll see if I can reach them from here.**

Intercom (Rosenburg): **No! Don't touch that!**

_[Dr. Cross finished treating Dr. Green. A minute later, she slowly came to her senses.]_

Dr. Green: **Mind telling me what happened?**

Dr. Cross: **Well, we caused the first-ever resonance cascade scenario. Pretty much screwed up today, haven't we?**

_[Dr. Green got up to her feet, still a bit groggy.]_

Dr. Green: **How….Who….Why did this happen? **

Dr. Cross: **Whoever gave us the sample was really full of shit.**

Dr. Green: **We won't get any closer to solving this dilemma if we don't get moving.**

Dr. Cross: **I don't know if you should move in that condition.**

Dr. Green: **Don't worry. I'll manage the suit. It figures that the prototype would falter now, of all times.**

_[A bulkhead exploded, and lowered slightly. Dr. Cross and Dr. Green crawled underneath it to reach the hallway. Staring right at them was an alien. A small, crab-like 4-legged alien.]_

_[It made a clicking growling noise, and then leaped at Dr. Cross's head. She ducked, and her hair was grazed by the alien's fangs. Dr. Green quickly ducked and crushed the alien with her heel. It oozed yellow blood. Two more crabs crawled down the hallway towards them.]_

_[Dr. Green pulled out her crowbar. Dr. Cross quickly followed suit.]_

Dr. Green: **What do we call these things?**

Dr. Cross: **Dead meat.**

_**Elsewhere…**_

_[Dr. Freeman slowly came to, looking around the test chamber. The chamber was in ruins. Electric wires openly spouting electricity, the machine's parts were all over the chamber, and the sample was buried under a pile of rubble.]_

_[He quickly stepped out into the main hallway. A scientist resurrected a Security Guard with CPR. Gordon ignored their plight, and walked up into the elevator. The plasma cells had burst, with more of the crab creatures inside, held back by the cracked glass. Dr. Vance was tending to an injured Dr. Kleiner.]_

_[Gordon quickly ran over to assist.]_

Dr. Freeman: **Kleiner! Are you alright?**

Dr. Kleiner: **I'm fine. But, I never would believe this.**

Dr. Vance: **Why wouldn't the administrator listen to me?**

Dr. Kleiner: **I can't believe I'd *see* a resonance cascade, let alone create one.**

_[Dr. Vance turned to face Gordon.]_

Dr. Vance: **Gordon! Thank God that you're alright. Those suits are well designed. I need you to help us. I'm too afraid to move, and all the phones are dead. Get to the surface as soon as you can. If there are any remaining personnel, I'm sure they'll help you.**

Dr. Freeman: **What are these crab creatures?**

_[Dr. Vance walked over to the rent plasma cells.]_

_[From what I've seen, they can latch onto a human's head, and directly control their nervous system using a long beak of some sort. I've decided to call them Head crabs. What do you think?]_

Dr. Freeman: **Sounds good to me. Maybe we should get a blood sample, or find a biological weakness?**

Dr. Vance: **Don't bother. They die easily enough, but they're sneaky, and usually travel in packs. I'll open the door for you.**

_[Dr. Vance guided Gordon to the control room door. He quickly went back to tend to Dr. Kleiner. Beams of energy erupted from the busted machine, breaking the computer banks behind the wall, and destroying the door. Dodging the beams, Gordon jumped through the hole in the door. Dr. Freeman walks down the hall, until a Head crab crawls out of a pipe, and attempts to connect with his head.]_

_[Dr. Freeman immediately pulls the bugger off and throws it into a wall. It flipped over, screamed and died.]_

_[Dr. Freeman temporarily lost hold of his senses when it attempted to tap into his nervous system. He flailed around into the next room, and stopped right before wandering into the path of a laser.]_

_[The pipes along the wall had broken, and were emitting ultra-hot lasers. Dr. Freeman carefully ducked the lasers, as one cut a dead security guard in half. Next to a locked door was a crowbar, jammed in the glass. He pulled it out with a swift tug, breaking the glass.]_

_[All of a sudden, he noticed a message on his communication interface. It was Dr. Cross and Dr. Green.]_

Dr. Green (Radio): **This is Dr. Colette Green, operating on all open HEV frequencies. Is anyone there? **

Dr. Freeman: **This is Dr. Freeman. Are you okay?**

Dr. Green (Radio): **For the time being, yes. Dr. Cross is fine, also.**

Dr. Freeman: **What about Black Mesa Security personnel?**

Dr. Cross (Radio): **Only a few left in the entire facility. Most of them are dead. Not all the guards have suit radios. **

Dr. Freeman: **Damn it! One of my best friends was a security guard.**

Dr. Cross (Radio): **You're not the only one. We all lost friends and colleagues. Right now, we need to worry about the current situation. There are two problems: One, we're trapped in this facility. Two, there's the possibility of this invasion spreading.**

Dr. Freeman: **If there are any living staff members, I'm sure they're already making a push to call in the Marines for assistance. That just leaves getting out of here. **

Dr. Freeman: **Right. We'll stay in contact. Let me know if Barney is transmitting anything radio-based.**

Dr. Green (Radio): **We will, but don't get your hopes up.**

Dr. Freeman: **Right. See you later.**

_[Dr. Freeman crawled through the hole in the door, and walked over to the elevator. The elevator dropped to the bottom of shaft, showering debris everywhere. Dr. Freeman let fly a string of curses, then took the maintenance ladder up. ]_

_[A security guard was waiting at the top of the ladder, and yanked Gordon off the ladder, sending him spinning into the wall.]_

Security 9: **You! I can tell that this is all your fault! You were in the chamber when it happened! I know what you did. You thought you could get away with sabotaging the Spectrometer, huh? **

Dr. Freeman: **It wasn't my fault! The sample spawned this!**

Security 9: **You're lying. There's no way out of this. **

Dr. Freeman: **I really wish I didn't have to do this….**

_[The guard pulled out his Beretta M9 and aimed it directly at Gordon. With a flick of his wrist, Gordon knocked the pistol right out of his hand, and gave him a good jab in the kidneys, sending the guard staggering across the room. He quickly regained his senses, and floored Dr. Freeman, rolling him right next to the open elevator shaft.]_

_[Feeling a rush of adrenaline, Dr. Freeman grabs the guard by his vest, and pulls him to the ground, face-first. He goes over and picks up his pistol.]_

Security #9: **Go ahead. Finish it.**

_[Dr. Freeman put his foot on the guard's back.]_

Dr. Freeman: **No. You're losing your mind. This will happen two ways. One is I take your pistol, and leave you for the aliens. Second, you accept my offer, and you get to help me get out of this place. I hope I'm perfectly clear. What'll it be?**

Security #9: **Not like I have a choice in the matter. #2. **

Dr. Freeman: **Good. You're learning.**

_[He pulled the guard back up to his feet and gave him back the pistol.]_

_[Two scientists lumbered towards Dr. Freeman. They had Head crabs where their faces should have been. Their arms were thin strands of flesh attached to sharp claws, and had a massive maw for a chest.]_

Dr. Freeman: **Ahem. You might want to shoot them.**

Security #9: **Now, you want me to kill, as well?**

Dr. Freeman: **That Head crab on their heads, it's controlling them. Are you stupid or something?**

_[One of the scientists clawed the guard, leaving bloody scars on the guard's face. In retaliation, he pulled out his pistol and fired a few shots, which hit the creature in the midsection. It shrugged the shots off. It raised its claws again. Suddenly, Dr. Freeman jabs his crowbar into the creature's Head crab. It flops for a bit, then slumps over, dead.]_

Dr. Freeman: **Only head shots count. Just like zombies.**

_[The guard fired off another shot, directed at Gordon, this time. He ducked, just in time, to blast the other zombie.]_

_[Dr. Freeman looked behind him and noticed. ]_

Dr. Freeman: **Next time, warn me. You could have blown my head off.**

Security #9: **Apology accepted.**

_[They went down the hallways. They popped out two more zombies, before examining the personnel area. Dr. Freeman picked out two power modules for the HEV suit hastily stuffed into his locker. The readout read 30% power status. The guard found two 9mm clips in Guthrie's locker. He threw one of them to Dr. Freeman. ]_

Security #9: **Keep it. It might come in handy if you find a pistol.**

Dr. Freeman: **Right. I'll manage it from here. See you around.**

_[He left and headed towards the exit.]_

**Elsewhere….**

_[Dr. Cross and Dr. Green finished off the Head crabs. ]_

Dr. Green: **At least they don't have acid blood, or I'd be dead. **

Dr. Cross: **Maybe the security checkpoint has something useful. **

_[Dr. Cross smashed the cracked windows in with her foot. Inside were a dead security guard, 2 Beretta M9s, 4 clips, and two power modules. ]_

_[As if to punish success, 3 ham-shaped aliens teleported out of thin air. They made whines similar to dogs. All of a sudden, they made a series of high-pitched whines that reached sonic decibel. Their screeching calls rip across Dr. Cross and Dr. Green's ears. Dr. Cross frantically tried to ignore the noise annihilating her eardrums, while Dr. Green screamed out in pain.]_

_[Dr. Cross leaped out of the booth, firing both pistols at the creatures. Within seconds, they fell over dead, with a eye-lid like material over their fronts.]_

Dr. Green: **Thanks. What are those things?**

Dr. Cross: **Dr. Cross's creature nickname center suggests Hound eyes.**

Dr. Green: **I won't ask. Hound eyes they are.**

Dr. Cross: **Hold on. I've got a message from Gordon.**

Dr. Freeman (Radio): **How goes the escaping? **

Dr. Green: **Rough going. You know, someone's going to have to rescue the remaining survivors. And stop the invasion.**

Dr. Freeman (Radio): **They're still coming through?**

Dr. Cross: Y**eah, in small resonating warp gates. They're only small enough to accommodate small to medium-size creatures. Of course, there could be larger species….**

Dr. Freeman (Radio): **That's enough. Geez. I'm guessing you already met the Head crabs? You know 4 legs, controls people's nervous systems and turns them into zombies.**

Dr. Green: **I'd say so. Watch for Hound eyes. **

Dr. Freeman (Radio): **Those would be…?**

Dr. Cross: **Three-legged ham shaped dogs. With no heads. They have a sonic blast attack. And an array of eyes, much like a mosquito.**

Dr. Freeman (Radio): **Too much information. Anyways, it looks like the normal way out is busted. The tram system is down. The rails are busted to pieces, along with the catwalk. You have any other ideas on how to get out of here?**

Dr. Green: **If I remember correctly, the way out would be to go through the sewer system to the office complexes, and through a series of old storage bunkers from the Cold War. Then there's a... [Static] **

Dr. Freeman (Radio): [Static] **Hello? Are you… **[Static] **The transmission's breaking…** [Static] **Forget it. I'll ask later.**

_[Dr. Cross handed Dr. Green one of the pistols and some ammo. Together, they shoot their way through a mass of Head crabs and Zombies. Heavy music plays in the background.]_

_[Eventually, they reach Dr. Keller and Dr. Rosenburg. They seem somewhat startled at first.]_

Dr. Keller: **Ah!** [Sigh] **You startled me for a moment. Thank goodness you're both still alive. Those suits of yours are very well designed, Dr. Cross. **

Dr. Cross: **Though not as well as I would like. I'd be dead if it wasn't for Dr. Green.**

Dr. Green: **Flatterer. Although it's true.**

Dr. Keller: **Right. Doctors, we've formulated a plan. You two are to escort Dr. Rosenburg to the surface, so that we can call the military for assistance. I couldn't possibly make it in my chair. I'll stay behind and assess the damage to our equipment and the extent of the cascade.**

Dr. Rosenburg: **I don't like the idea of leaving you here, but it seems we don't have a choice in the matter. Let's go.**

_[Dr. Cross, Dr. Green and Dr. Rosenburg stepped into the elevator, and transferred.]_

_**Elsewhere…..**_

_[Dr. Freeman approached a dying security guard near the airlock. He turned to face Gordon.]_

Security 10: **Listen to me…..You…You have to leave this place, they'll kill all of us….**

_[The guard made a feeble attempt to reach the wall-mounted medical station, before expiring. Dr. Freeman frowned, and then grabbed the Beretta M9 off the guard's corpse. He crawled through the scattered airlock fragments, and into maintenance.]_

_[Dr. Freeman switched out the empty clip in the pistol for the fresh one the guard had given him.]_

_[A scientist ran into the corner, running from two Hound eyes. Dr. Freeman quickly drew his pistol and scattered the creatures with bullets, killing one.]_

Scientist #9: **Thank you, Dr. Freeman. I was trying to get to the surface, when I got caught by those creatures. I believe the best way out is through the old storage rooms. Just head down that way, through the old pipe and down the cargo lift.**

Dr. Freeman: **Alright. You should stay here. It's not safe.**

Scientist #9: **Very well. Good luck.**

_[Dr. Freeman looked up to see the MIDB stare at him for a minute before walking away. Two more Hound eyes appeared, plus the other one from earlier. Dr. Freeman lured them over to a corner, where he kicked two of them in the eyes and shot one down. They let out a sonic whine attack. The combined force of their attacks brought Dr. Freeman to his knees. Bent over in pain, he popped all three of them down with the pistol. He slowly walked down the hallway, while taking an ammo count. 5 bullets left. There were two sewer grates separated by a steel crisscrossing wall, a dumpster to the left and a steel door. When Dr. Freeman approached the sewer grates, he heard a noise behind the door. Suddenly, it started to bend outwards. Finally, a long scaly arm burst through the door, bending the steel easily. The creature broke the door off the hinges. It had brown, smooth skin, long sharp claws like rocks. It had strange shackles around its neck, wrists, and feet. It had a humanoid figure, no jaw and one big red eye surrounded by smaller red eyes. It spoke in a strange language.]_

_[As if compelled to attempt to make contact with this obviously more intelligent species, he stretched out his hand in a sign of non-aggression.]_

Dr. Freeman: **Hello? Do you talk? Me human. Friend.**

_[The creature shook its head in confusion, then grabbed Gordon by the arm and thrust him across the room, knocking over several barrels.]_

_[Dr. Freeman struggled to his feet.]_

Dr. Freeman:** I guess not.**

_[He pulled out his pistol and fired at the creature. 2 shots missed completely, 1 shot tore some skin off the creature's back, and two shots pierced the creature's chest._ ]

_[Dr. Freeman realized he was out of ammo.]_

_[The creature hissed at Dr. Freeman, and arced its claws. Massive amounts of electricity gathered in the claws. It quickly released the green-ish electricity and fired it at Gordon. He managed to duck it. The creature then picked Dr. Freeman up by the arm, and put one of its claws up to Gordon's throat, threatening to kill. It raised its arm, looking to finish it, just the moment Gordon was waiting for. He took out his crowbar and jammed it in the creature's mouth hole. In pain, it dropped Dr. Freeman and staggered, attempting to pull the metal bar out of the roof of its mouth, bleeding rapidly. ]_

_[Inside the cave it came from, Gordon picked up two spare clips. He quickly loaded the clips in, and dropped the beast with a shot in the eye.]_

_[It was starting to give up the fight. Gordon went over, and yanked out the crowbar, the tip coated in yellow blood.]_

_[It spit out what blood was left inside its mouth. Gordon put his foot on the creature's chest to keep it from getting up.]_

_[It made it clearly evident it could speak English.]_

Alien: **You….You are stronger than the rest. Makes….No Difference, though. We will destroy you in the end.**

Dr. Freeman: **Whatever. Why are you doing this? You appear to be a bit more intelligent than the other species.**

Creature: **Fellow Vortigaunts will kill under control…..**

_[The Vortigaunt expired.]_

_[Dr. Freeman took his foot off the dead alien's chest, and dropped down into the vent.]_

**Elsewhere….**

_[Dr. Rosenburg, Dr. Cross, and Dr. Green reached the surface.]_

Dr. Rosenburg: **If any of us are to get out of here alive, then we'll have to use this old communication array to call in the military. Before we go, take these.**

_[Dr. Rosenburg handed Dr. Cross and Dr. Green two SPAS-12 Shotguns, complete with 12 shells.]_

Dr. Cross: **This is definitely to my expectations.**

Dr. Green: (With a chuckle) **Let's not get too excited.**

_[Dr. Rosenburg took a crowbar, and pried the gate to the comm. facility open. They quickly dashed through the sand, watchful for aliens. None appeared. ]_

_[The door to the control center swwung open loosely.]_

_[They quickly dashed over to the main controls.]_

Dr. Rosenburg: **It seems that the dish is not alligned properly. Go over to the building next to it and rotate the alignment wheel until the light turns green. **

Dr. Cross: **I guess I'll do it. We'll stay in touch using the suit radio.**

_[Dr. Cross left and went over to the other comm building. She found the wheel and turned it until it glowed with a flourescent green light.]_

Dr. Green(Radio): **Good, the dish is alligned. Come on back here.**

_[Suddenly, 3 Vortigaunts appeared out of nowhere._ _]_

Dr. Cross: **I could use some help over here. **

Dr. Green(Radio): **Hang on. I'll be there as soon as I can.**

_[Dr. Cross took a bolt to the chest, as she ducked for cover. The aliens were waiting behind the cover. The first one delivered a damaging swat, knocking the shotgun out of her hands. Two of the vortigaunts grabbed her arms, and held her still.]_

_[Dr. Cross fruitlessly struggled. ]_

Dr. Cross: **Goddamn it! Let me go, you stinky piles of crap!**

_[The third one let loose a happy snarl, and began to tear at Dr. Cross's suit.]_

Suit(Dr. Cross): **Warning: Structural damage detected. Deploying emergency measures.**

_[A small prod popped out of the shoulder and delivered a painful shock in the Vortigaunt's large eye. It thrashed around, ripping a chunk of wiring and electronics out of the keypad in the center of the suit, before Dr. Green blasted the poor creature with her shotgun. The shock of it all caused the other two to flee, dropping Dr. Cross quickly.]_

Dr. Green: **Are you okay, Dr. Cross?**

Dr. Cross: **I'm fine, but my suit will need repairs.**

Dr. Green: **I think there's a toolbox in the comm facility. You can use that to fix your suit. But first, let's activate the communications network.**

Dr. Cross: **Right. Let's go.**

_[Inside the communication facility, Dr. Rosenberg activated the network.]_

Dr. Rosenberg: **Now to activate the systems. **

Communications: **Test. Test. Testing.**

Dr. Rosenberg: **Excellent. Now we can call in the military for assistance.**

Dr. Keller(Radio): **Dr. Rosenberg, send down Dr. Cross and Dr. Green immediately. The dampening locks have gone critical and must be reset.**

Dr. Rosenberg: **Alright. I'll stay here and contact the military. I'm positive once they hear from us, they'll send in marines to rescue us.**

_[Dr. Cross and Dr. Green leave and head back into the facility.]_

_**End Chapter 2**_

**That finishes this chapter. I'll post once I have some free time. Also, I would like to apologize for the long period of not posting anything. decided to hate me and not accept any articles. Hazardous Course was skipped due to it screwing up the plot line.**


	3. Here They Come

Chapter 3: Here They Come…..

You may have noticed a script change on bold/italicized text. I did that on purpose. I'm feeling somewhat indecisive on that. Hopefully I will finish on that before I finish the fan-fiction.

[Dr. Freeman stepped out of an elevator. A scientist's body was dragged into the ceiling, while an electric wire electrocuted 5 approaching headcrabs.]

[On the other side of the room was a locked door, with two scientists on the other side. He quickly knocked on the door. One of the scientists opened the door. Suddenly, the ceiling broke, and a creature hanging from the ceiling grabbed the scientist and swallowed him whole.]

[Gordon walked into the breaker room and flipped the switch. The electrified wire in the main hallway shut off. ]

[The other living scientist approached Gordon.]

Scientist #11: Gordon, you're alive! Everyone's trying to escape and get to the surface. I think they're crazy not to stay put. Somebody is bound to rescue us. I think you should stay, also.

Dr. Freeman: Right now, I'm not convinced. The phones are out. Stay if you want, but I'm leaving.

[He walked through the hallway, and down towards a storage locker.]

Dr. Freeman: Hey, Dr. Cross and Dr. Green: How's the situation?

Dr. Cross(Radio): Good, but fragile. Dr. Rosenberg making contact with the military now. We're heading back to reset the dampening fields, to keep the rift from growing too large. You?

Dr. Freeman: Continuing to head to the surface. Should I wait for them to come?

Dr. Green(Radio): No. Don't mind us. Just keep going. You'll run into them eventually. By the way, Dr. Cross was attacked by these strange creatures. They had a large eyes, sharp claws, brown rocky skin, and shot lightning bolts.

Dr. Freeman: They're called Vortigaunts. I think they're being controlled by something. They were wearing some kind of shackles on their neck, wrists, and ankles. Perhaps they're like a remote control device.

Dr. Cross(Radio): Interesting. The way they snuck up on me definitely suggested some intelligence. Obviously greater than the other more stupid beasts. But, what's controlling them? I don't like this.

Dr. Freeman: Hopefully, we won't find out. I gotta go. See ya.

[Down the hall, was a storage crate with a SPAS-12 Shotgun and a box of shells labeled "Boom Candy".]

[As he picked it up, he heard the voice of a Security Guard.]

Security #11: Hey! Hey you! Over here! Get over here!

[Dr. Freeman approached the guard, somewhat cautious. He let him into a storage room, where a scientist with a Headcrab on it's face.]

Security #11: Help me out here. One of these little buggers latched onto Dr. Grey's head.

[The Zombie Dr. Grey got up and started muttering something.]

Security #11: Don't worry, we'll help you, Dr. Grey.

[The zombie lumbered over and clawed the guard through his vest, the force of the blow knocked the guard's sidearm out of the way.]

Security #11: Gordon! Help!

[3 Shotgun Shells later, the zombie screamed and died. The guard went over and picked up his pistol. The guard had a very shaken look on his face.]

Security #11: Thanks. I owe you one. Help yourself to some supplies, and keep moving. I'm going to stay here and wait for rescue. Good luck.

[Dr. Freeman frowned, grabbed 3 boxes of shotgun shells, left the pistol ammo, and headed back into the main hallway.]

Elsewhere…..

Fort Bravo

Undisclosed Location

[A man by the name of Corporal Adrian Shepard was abruptly awakened by the sound of a bugle. D.I Dwight Barnes woke them all up.]

D.I Barnes: Rise and shine, ladies! Emergency ASAP! Report to debrief room or get court-marshaled!

[Him and the rest of his platoon stood in the briefing room, a 20-foot tall room that looked more like a bomb shelter.]

[A soldier addressed all of them.]

Soldier #1: Listen up, we have an unidentified situation at the Black Mesa Research Facility. This is top classified. You will be given a proper debrief once we reach the facility. The transports are here, so move it!

Later…..

[Shepard and the others were inside an Osprey heliplane inbound for Black Mesa.]

Radio: Tango, proceed to point 1-1-Bravo and rendezvous with Charlie.

Roger, H.Q.

Soldier #2: What the hell are we doing in here?

Soldier #3: Well, I thought we were heading to your mother's house. So far, this all looks familiar.

Soldier #2: That's real cute, Jack.

Soldier #3: Anytime, anywhere!

Soldier #2: You smell that? Smells like…..another babysitting job to me, man.

Soldier #3: No shit, man.

Shepard: Babysitting job. What a crock. I ain't paid enough for this.

Soldier #4: Babysitting job, my ass! Sounds like another training mission to me, man. Why else would our orders be kept from us for so long?

Soldier #2: Yeah, what's up with that? Throwing us into this piece of junk and not even telling us what we're going in for.

Soldier #5: Do you have a problem, Private? I will give you your orders once we have reached the LZ. Am I understood?

Soldier #2: Sir, yes sir!

Soldier #3: I don't care what we're going in for, as long as I get to shoot me something.

Soldier #4: I heard that!

Radio: Does anyone have a good view of the LZ yet?

Negative, Goose Seven. I can see something on the scopes, but I don't know what it is?

[Suddenly, two kite-shaped alien ships descend on the heliplanes.]

Soldier #2: It looks like the D.I is going to be one tough S.O.B.

[Suddenly, one of the kite-shaped aliens hovered above a nearby heliplane, and demolished it with a laser.]

Radio: Holy shit! Goose Six down! Goose Six Down!

[Another alien fired a laser at Shepard's heliplane.]

Soldier #5: Listen up. We have an extremely hostile situation. Your orders are to….

[He was cut off by the fuel lines exploding, blowing everyone out of the plane. They quickly parachuted down, except for Shepard, who passed out, and fell to the ground.]

Elsewhere….

[Dr. Freeman found a fellow scientist.]

Scientist #12: Good news. I overhead a secure access transmission. They're sending in HECU marines to clean the base and rescue us from this hell. Although, we probably won't live long enough to greet them. I'll wait here.

[With a renewed burst of confidence, Dr. Freeman sprinted up the stairs, where he blasted two zombies attacking a scientist. At the end of the hall was an elevator shaft, with the elevator at the top, and a ladder on the other side.]

Dr. Freeman: Hey, Dr. Cross. Does the Mark IV have anything to help you run faster?

Dr. Cross(Radio): Well, there is a pair of sprint jets that work with your natural leg movements to boost speed. But it's not recommended for extended use.

Dr. Freeman: Perfect. Thanks.

[He pushed a red button on his suit, and two blue modules popped out of his ankles. He activated the sprint jets, and ran to catch the ladder on the opposite side of the shaft, and climb onto a very narrow ledge. A scientist was hanging off of the elevator ladder.]

Scientist #13: Help! I…I can't hold on much longer!

[Before Gordon could reach the ladder, the scientist lost his grip and fell to the bottom of the shaft. He quickly grabbed the ladder, and crawled into the elevator, which opened up into the storage rooms. Next to him as a security office with bulletproof glass. A scientist screamed on the door.]

Scientist #14: Quick! For god's sake, open the silo doors! They're coming for us, it's our only way out!

[A zombie grabbed the security guard through the vent and pulled him in.]

[The scientist ran away screaming, and tripped an M-23 Laser Claymore and was blown across a red laser, activating a stationary gun. Dr. Freeman hooked into the HEV charger mounted on the wall, which brought forth a glow to his suit.]

HEV(Gordon): High-Impact Reactive Armor Online. Charge: 95%.

[He walked down the hall and hid behind a crate to avoid being shot by the turret. He popped out of cover, and knocked down the turret with a shotgun blast.

[He looked around. A dead soldier lay next to an explosive crate, M4 locked inside his dead hands. Gordon wrenched the weapon out of the corpse's hands. He examined the gun. An M4A1 assault rifle, complete with barreled muzzle and M203 Centrifugal Grenade Launcher.

He lined up the weapon with his shoulder, and aimed down the sights, to test the weapon.]

Elsewhere….

[Dr. Keller, Dr. Cross, and Dr. Green discussed resetting the dampening locks.]

Dr. Keller: The dampening locks have gone critical, and are starting to overload, and must be reset. Otherwise, the dimensional gash will tear so wide, it might never be repaired.

Dr. Green: Right. So, how do we reset the dampening locks?

Dr. Keller: There's a pressure control valve on each lock. Turn it to the left to reset the pressure. There are 2 Secondary locks and the Primary conduit. The secondary locks must be reset before attempting to clear the Primary Conduit.

Dr. Cross: So, how bad is it in there?

Dr. Keller: Very. Everyone's dead in there. Also, the system is straining from the rift's power. Don't be surprised if aliens are spawning all around you as you reset the locks. I think I should be able to stay in contact with you using your suit radio. Let me check.

Dr. Keller(Radio): Test. Test. Testing.

Dr. Keller: Excellent. I can keep in contact with you anywhere in the facility. Good luck.

Dr. Cross and Dr. Green headed into the facility, lined with dead bodies.

Dr. Green: How's your suit?

Dr. Cross: Fine. I managed to make it work, at least. Yours?

Dr. Green: Perfect. You know, if what we've seen so far is the worst they have to offer, why be scared in the least?

Dr. Cross: Because this isn't the worst. Dr. Green, you don't know this, but Lambda experiments with these creatures.

Dr. Green: What? What do you mean?

Dr. Cross: Normally, I would be fired for telling you this, but it's worth mentioning, considering the circumstances. Lambda labs experiment with all manner of transportation research. They stumbled upon an alien land known as Xen. They captured a few specimens, and now…

Dr. Green: They want revenge.

Dr. Cross: I'm not sure. The experiment had to be the cause. I doubt they could do this at will, no matter how powerful. Then add the fact that the rift opened at test lab C3/A. I happen to have seen some of these creatures, and some more dangerous ones. Obviously, once they invaded, the prisoners were freed.

Dr. Green: What do we do now?

Dr. Cross: Reset the locks, and pray for a miracle.

End Chapter 3


	4. On Duty

**I'm starting to settle on a definitive style of writing, one that puts a distinction between face-to-face conversations and radio. Also, it will be more book-like in appearance. Enjoy #4.**

Black Mesa: The Invasion

Chapter 4: On Duty

Barney finally came to see a Houndeye chewing on his uniform. He quickly came to and kicked the ugly thing in the eyes, sending it running. Ignoring the pain in his legs, he pulled out his pistol, and shot him and his friends, who were chewing on a dead body.

Barney: Yeah. Take that, you miserable hound from hell.

He picked up a Crowbar from the ground and smashed open some boxes for 2 9mm clips. The door to the exit was locked by a power lock. He busted out the panel with the crowbar and went up the ladder. A scientist was cowering in the crawlspace.

Scientist #14: Calhoun! How….how did you get through the power lock? Nevermind. If you want to get out of here, escape through the canal. It's the only way out. It'll lead to the surface. Soldiers have arrived, but don't tell them I'm down here. I think they want to kill us all. Get out of here! The canal is where you want to be. That ladder over there will lead to the canal. Now leave me alone. I don't want them to hear us.

Barney quickly scrambled down the vent, and into a small metal hallway. Suddenly, a Headcrab burst through a small box and lunged for Barney's head. He wrenched the creature off, and blasted it with a shot to the body.

Barney: Damn it! I hate these things already. If I ever see one of these after I get out of here, it'll be too soon.

He pulled out his radio and spoke into it.

Barney Calhoun: Hello, this is Security Guard Barney H. Calhoun, transmitting on all open frequencies. Is anybody there? Damn it, I hope this is reaching someone who's still alive. If so, please respond.

Dr. Freeman(Radio): Barney? Barney, is that you?

Calhoun: Well, well, well. If it isn't the impeccable Dr. Freeman. How did you survive?

Dr. Freeman(Radio): HEV suit. You?

Calhoun: Helmet. What's happening? It's like a movie gone bad.

Dr. Freeman: I don't completely understand, but it looks like a resonance cascade. In lamens terms, aliens invaded, and they don't want autographs.

Calhoun: No, duh. What's the plan?

Dr. Freeman(Radio): Here it is. We are going to make contact with the military, who have arrived recently. They will clean out the facility and rescue any survivors. Dr. Cross, Dr. Green, and Dr. Keller plan to stay behind to attempt to close the alien rift.

Calhoun: What happened to rescuing the damsel in distress?(Laughs)

Dr. Freeman: If we were talking face to face, my hand would be full of your teeth. They're the only ones capable of doing this.

Calhoun: I met a scientist. He seemed to think that the military will want to kill us all. I think you should exercise caution until you're sure. Don't mind me, I'll make my own luck.

Dr. Freeman(Radio): That's what I was afraid of. Keep in touch, at least.

Calhoun: See ya around.

Elsewhere…..

Dr. freeman climbed up a balcony, catching a glimpse of the man in the black suit. When he followed him, he disappeared completely. A scientist ran up to a soldier. Following Barney's advice, he hugged a wall.

Scientist #15: Rescued at last! Thank God you're here!

The marine raised his M4 and dropped the poor scientist in a flurry of 9mm bullets. His heart jumped for a second, spreading fear all over his face.

He quickly ducked back into the previous room.

Dr. Freeman(Quietly): Shit! Shit! Damn it! I should have seen it coming!

Dr. Cross(Radio): What are you cursing about, now?

Dr. Freeman: The Marines are here.

Dr. Green(Radio): Good. Why are you so ticked, may I ask?

Dr. Freeman: They're on orders to clean out the facility, and not with a mop and broom. This is a government coverup.

Dr. Cross(Radio): You mean…..Oh, crap. We're all doomed. They're going to kill us all.

Calhoun(Radio): I told you so. I love being right, for once.

Dr. Freeman: Well, I don't know about you, but I'm not going down without a fight.

Dr. Green(Radio): Fine. Just….don't do anything hasty.

Dr. Freeman stepped onto the top rail, then jumped onto the Marine, knocking the rifle out of his hands.

Soldier #6: Damn it! Who are you?

Dr. Freeman: Your worst nightmare. You're going to tell me some things. First off, state your name and rank, soldier.

Soldier #6: Cpl. Washington, Hazardous Environment Combat Unit.

Dr. Freeman: I believe the orders were supposed to be a rescue operation. Correct?

Soldier #6: Yes.

Dr. Freeman: Why are you now covering up this entire invasion and killing everyone?

Soldier #6: I don't know. I think….Something to do with….A guy in a suit. That's all I know. I just follow orders.

Dr. Freeman picked up the soldier's M4A1 and turned to him again.

Dr. Freeman: Here's the deal. I'm going to let you go, with your sidearm and knife, take the elevator behind you, and leave. You are not going to bother pursuing me. Am I understood?

The soldier simply nodded, fear in his eyes.

Dr. Freeman stepped into the elevator, as the soldier grabbed a spare M4 from a locked storage crate.

Then the soldier realized that he also took his radio.

End Chapter 4

**Sorry for Such a long wait. I lost motivation, temporarily. It would appear that Chapter 5 will be further delayed, due to me having apparently lost the file for chapter 5. Sorry.**


	5. Tricks and Traps

**I'm baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack! Did ya miss me? I'm back in the groove, and I'm working on 6 right now. The update chapter is gone, simply just doesn't fit in. Updates on my profile page. Enjoy this surprisingly long chapter.**

Chapter V. Tricks & Traps

Gordon sprinted down a catwalk, while three soldiers fired at him from below. They missed, and Dr. Freeman disappeared around a corner.

"Damn it! He got away!", yelled a nearby soldier. They all holstered their rifles.

"Who is that guy?"

"Hell if I know. But he's with the science team, probably."

"I just ran him through the database. His name's Gordon Freeman. PH.D, Theoretical Physics, University of Innsbruck."

"We care why?", an annoying soldier burst.

"Black Mesa Delta Science Team."

"I knew it! Chalmsford, patch a message through to H.Q about Dr. Freeman."

"Roger. H.Q, we have a high-level threat. An armed member of the science team wearing some orange suit of armor. His name's Dr. Freeman."

[Roger, Cpl. Chalmsford. Attention all units, keep an eye out for Dr. Freeman. You'll know him when you see him.]

"Let's move. Maybe we can catch up with him."

"Actually, let's dig in. The path he's going leads right here, to the express surface elevator. Let's simply dig in and lay a trap when he comes here."

"Alright. We'll lay a pressure-plate released grenade bouquet right to the left of the ramp leading to this area. Hopefully, he'll run right into it. We'll just see how durable that armor of his is."

Meanwhile…..

Barney picked up a shotgun from a dead scientist's corpse. He sighed, took a minute to rest, and then climbed up the ladder. Two soldiers were talking. One of them threw a very fat security guard down the hole the dead scientist was in.

"Man, these civvies are getting heavy."

"Why do we get the crap jobs? Just because Shepard's team failed to make it, we get the boring crap?"

"That's how it looks. Well, let's get on with it."

Barney snuck around the next corridor as they threw another dead security guard down the hole. He fumbled around to pick up his radio.

"Hey, Gordon. It looks like they lost a few squads before they even landed."

[Good for us. But, I think the ones that did make it are more than capable of silencing the facility. Dr. Cross and Dr. Green are working with Keller to reset the dampening locks and close the rift. Then we'll deal with the soldiers.]

"You do that, and I'll work on getting out of here."

Barney shut off his radio and went into the steam tunnels. The opening closed behind him. He pulled out his service pistol and swam through the flooded section, a clicking, growling noise echoing throughout the place.

Elsewhere…

Cross, Green and Keller were in a small staging area.

"So, what's the plan?"

"The dampening fields have gone critical and need to be reset. Dr. Green will elaborate."

Dr. Green got off of her seat and spoke as clearly as possible.

"The actual procedure of resetting the dampening locks is very simple. There are two secondary locks and one primary conduit lock. Resetting the secondaries opens up the Primary lock. Then, simply reset the primary lock. The locks are reset by turning a simple valve in front of it. Getting to the locks will be the hard part. The facility is crawling with aliens."

"Right. Where do we begin?"

"Right here. From here, we work our way through the offices, then into maintenance, where the lock valves are."

"One last thing, Drs. The system is under extreme pressure from the rift bearing down on it. When the locks are being reset, prepare for intense resonance activity in the area. Before you go, I want to test your suit radios."

Dr. Keller rolled over to a console and spoke into a microphone, which transmitted over Cross and Green's suit radios.

[Test, Test, Testing. Test. Excellent. Now, I can be in contact with you no matter where you are in the facility. Good luck."

Dr. Cross and Dr. Green strolled into the building, blasting a clueless zombie in the process.

"Okay, let's stick together, and try to find those displacement valves."

"Right."

Barney walked down the hallway to find a dead end, with a broken ventilation section drooping out. Smirking, Barney pulled out his crowbar and smashed open the vent, then crawled into it. It was an unbelievably tight fit. He had to squirm and squeeze to move.

"Man, now I know what a TV dinner feels like."

He squirmed along into a dark section, and pulled out his flashlight, which made it considerably to move. When he turned it on, a Headcrab latched onto his helmet. He screamed and flung the creature off before impaling it on the crowbar. He sighed, put his now-slightly-cracked helmet on and moved to the end of the vent.

It opened up into a parking lot. A van lay in the middle of the empty lot, the engine obliterated by weapons fire. The driver was slumped over dead on the ground, face first. He was a security guard. The passenger, a scientist, was still in the car. A bullet in his head, slumped on the bloody glass. Barney shuddered, then looted the guard's corpse. He picked up a spare helmet and took the car keys and a .357 Magnum Revolver. It was still warm. Opening the trunk yielded 2 boxes of revolver ammo and a box of shotgun shells.

He walked into an old hallway, with peeling hard wall and mold everywhere. Suddenly, he heard gunfire. 3 soldiers were opening fire on a scientist, blasting him into a cabinet. Barney angrily raised his revolver, and dropped two of the soldiers with head shots. The third ran away through a door behind him.

He quickly rushed over to the scientist. Blood was dripping from his wounds, and his eyes were rolling around.

"Sir, are you alright? I can deliver first aid."

"Never mind. I know you tried to help, but those bastards did their damage already. If you planned to leave through the train yards, forget about it. The military has blocked off the area. They're capturing everyone and shooting them, or taking them here for *questioning*."

His voice suddenly became very hoarse.

"If you want to get out of here…..find Dr. Rosenburg. Maybe, if you can find him, you can get out of this place."

He bowed and expired. Barney grimly picked up the dead soldiers' M4a1s. When the last soldier appeared, he dropped in a hail of lead bullets. Barney dropped the spare and pocketed several clips. He walked into the train yards, M4 fully loaded.

Meanwhile…..

Gordon walked down a ramp, and stopped right in front of a bundle of grenades tied to a pressure plate. Noticing the obvious trap, he carefully untied the grenade bouquet and grabbed the grenades. He stepped on the pressure plate, and the three grunts from earlier jumped out at him.

"You're dead!"

Unfortunately, they failed to realize the current situation. Gordon pulled all of the grenade pins, and tossed the bundle into the middle of them. Despite their best efforts, they were shredded by the scattering grenades. Two died from the blast, and another's leg was broken. He screamed in pain as Gordon scavenged ammo off the bodies.

The mortally wounded soldier raised his sidearm, tried to squeeze the trigger, and fell unconscious. Gordon didn't even look back and stepped into the elevator, sighing.

He simply hummed a theme, to the tune of "Still Alive". Suddenly, the elevator reached the top, and the whine of a bomb was distinctly heard as it struck the enclosure the elevator was in. The building shook, and the windows shattered, scattering glass shards over the floor. Gordon carefully walked around the shards. He carefully peeked around the corner. The area was blocked off. 5 Soldiers were the patrolling, the obvious way out was blocked by an electric fence, and an Osprey flew overhead, deploying troops in front of and behind the fence. A lone bunker lay on the other side of the small holding area. The grunts were talking, rifles still in hand.

"So, do you think they got him?"

"No. Their radios are dead. He'll come through here."

"I don't get it. There was like, 6 guys between the science labs and here. How could he have gotten past them."

"I don't know, but he's like Rambo or something. Nobody can put a damn bullet in him."

"By the way, he's wearing a special armor suit. Aim for the head, or don't bother."

"Quiet down. Look around."

The soldiers spread out and covered the area. Gordon carefully snuck around to the bunker. Suddenly, they caught sight of him in front of the bunker.

"Squad, its Freeman!"

The soldier reached for his gun, but he was full of bullets before he could unshoulder it. He quickly dropped 3 other soldiers with his M4.

The last one hid behind a stack of crates. He pulled out his radio, and punched in some numbers. Gordon looked up and saw a slow-dropping bomb. He rushed into the bunker. The bomb struck the ladder leading into the bunker, ripping it off his hinges, and throwing Dr. Freeman down the shaft to the bottom. The HEV suit clicked on.

[Warning: Moderate Leg Fracture Detected. Treating…]

The suit delivered generation fluid into the broken section of bone and muscle, which quickly sewed the muscles and bone back together, and absorbed the leftover bone shards. Gordon quickly clambered to his feet, a little shaky. The general stimulant in the generative fluid woke him up.

[Med Systems are GO.

Medical Reserves: 80%

Primary Power: 50%

Auxiliary Power: 75%

Internal Integrity: 95%

External Integrity: 80%

Biological Stability: 100%

Thank you for using the HEV Mach 4 Protective System.]

Gordon walked down the hallway and found a wall-mounted Health Station and HEV Power Recharging Station. He quickly recharged and refueled the suit, and opened the maintenance vent.

Suddenly, a bomb blew open the top of the vent, sending shrapnel and fan pieces flowing down the vent. Gordon climbed down to the end of the vent. An Osprey dropped 4 soldiers into the vent. One of the soldiers saw Gordon duck away into the next section of vent shaft, and followed him in. The soldier attacked and sent Gordon onto the ground with the butt of his rifle.

"Heh. That was easy. H.Q, I got him."

[Good. Bring him back to the storage rooms, and find a good place to let the bastard rot.]

"Roger, H.Q."

Gordon reached into his suit's inventory and pulled out his Shotgun. Before he could even ready it, the soldier kicked it away. It slid a couple of feet, landing just short of a giant vent fan.

"You're mine, you miserable bastard."

Gordon head-butted the soldier, cracking the glass lens of his helmet. The soldier dragged him over to the fan, picked up Gordon's shotgun, and blasted him point-blank in the chest with it. The suit's armor activated, absorbing most of the lead. Gordon pulled out his crowbar and delivered a swift whack to the head.

It connected, shattering the helmet and splitting his skull open. Warm blood oozed out of the hole. The soldier half-consciously dropped Gordon and slumped over into the fan. The ultra-fast rotations pureed the poor soldier, splattering flesh, brains and clothing everywhere. The soldier's M4, along with Gordon's Shotgun, fell through. Gordon hugged the ledge until he was out of reach of the fan, then simply vaulted down under it, grabbing the soldier's ammo and his shotgun.

Gordon climbed through a ventilation shaft, until he found himself in the security office he passed by earlier. A scientist cowered in a corner.

"Ah! Oh, it's you, Dr. Freeman, isn't it? I knew they couldn't get you. So much for the government. Their idea of containment is to kill everyone associated with the base. Judging by your suit, you were part of what went wrong, correct?"

"Yeah, I was in the test chamber. What now?"

"The only people who can end this catastrophe are the staff in the Lambda complex. An old decommissioned rail system is embedded in Silo D. Use it to reach the industrial areas, then go across the base to reach the Lambda complex. I would have told you sooner, but the transit system was out. You can trust Lambda. You can trust all of us. Good luck."

Gordon simply nodded, then opened the silo door, grabbing two boxes of shotgun shells from the security office before leaving.

Meanwhile…

Barney carefully peered around a corner. 6 soldiers stood guard over three storage containers. One was empty, but two had living beings inside. Barney snuck into the manifest control office opposite the doorway. When he flipped the switch, he saw signs of a struggle. Bloody handprints were on the wall, and overturned tables and small boxes littered the floor. Behind the overturned table were two dead scientists. They had made a final stand, but in vain.

Barney checked the boxes. Inside the boxes were 3 boxes of shotgun shells, 2 cartons of revolver ammo, and 4 M92 Centrifugal Grenades. Barney quickly grabbed them and loaded a grenade into the M4's attached M203 Grenade Launcher. When he stepped outside, 2 soldiers were waiting for him. They kicked him back into the control office and closed the door. Another one joined them. Barney quickly devised a scheme.

He grabbed some packing wire and a M92 from his collection, and rigged a trip-wire bomb at the area where the hallway widens out into the room. He then carefully reached over and flipped the light switch. The M92 was placed to the corner of the doorway.

The three soldiers soon kicked down the doorway, guns readied to fire.

"Freeze!"

The room was damp and dark. The soldiers carefully set moved over to the light switch. A bloody handprint was next to it.

"Here's the plan: When I turn the lights on, spray the place. I know he's in here. Don't bother with explosives."

The soldier flipped on the light switch, and a tripwire snapped, sending the centrifugal grenade flying at them, fully armed.

"Son of a….."

The grenade collided with them and exploded, shredding the soldiers in 3 seconds. Two died, while another was gravely wounded. He coughed up blood, and tried to load his shotgun. Barney sighed, kicked the gun of his hand, and broke his helmet off. His face was somewhat unshaven and sweaty.

"Finish it, you punk!", the desperate soldier screamed.

"No. You aren't worth it. I'll cut you a deal. You don't bother trying to capture or kill me. And I let you live. How does that sound?"

"Yeah, then you leave me here, alone. To die."

Barney grunted, then gave him 12 shotgun shells, and a couple of med kits.

"I'll let you go, if you don't kill the rest of my squad mates."

"You mean the others outside the office?"

"Yeah. I don't care about the others, though. I don't like the idea of silencing the facility. I was just following orders…..ow."

"Hmmm. Any ideas?"

"Sure. We'll lock them in the empty storage locker. Give me a minute."

The soldier applied the med kits to his broken legs and carefully got up. He pulled out his radio.

"We got that security guard. He's in the other storage cabinet. Why don't you guys go give him a work over."

[Laughing All right. Let's give him a good thrashing.]

He turned off the radio. The soldier leaned up against a wall, then sighed.

"You'd better hurry. It's a matter of time before they figure it out. Here, take these, you might need them."

The soldier handed Barney 5 MKII Frag Grenades. The paint was somewhat withered, but it was in good condition. Barney pocketed the grenades.

"You know, part of me tells that you're just a sneaky bastard, but my moral side says that you're a desperate man seeking a way out. Which side is true?"

"The moral side. You should come with me."

"What? No! I'm not going to shoot my comrades!"

"I mean to open the storage lockers. I'm looking to find a scientist by the name of Dr. Rosenburg. Do you know where he is?"

"I might tell you after you deal with the rest of my squad mates. Take this, and lock the container when they go inside. Now go."

Barney took the padlock and key, and walked into the storage area. The 3 soldiers walked into the empty storage container.

"I don't see him."

"Lt. Rick, you had better not be shitting me.'

"If he isn't here, then where is he?"

"Right behind you."

The soldiers turned around to see Barney close the door on them, and lock the door. Thy furiously banged the steel door, to no avail.

"Damn it! We're stuck here, until a welder arrives. I can't believe we fell for that!"

Lt. Ricky walked up to Calhoun and handed him a keychain with 3 keys on it.

"Here you go, Calhoun, per agreement. This will open the holding containers for the scientists. I guess I'll join you. Just give me a weapon, and I'm with you. During our struggle, my weapon got broken."

"Fine. Take this."

Barney handed the Lieutenant a M4. He greedily loaded and cocked the gun. Barney smiled and started walking away, when he heard something from another storage container:

"Hello? Is anyone there? Help me!"

Barney hurried over, and unlocked the container. A wounded and scared scientist with crutches walked out.

"Man, you look like you had a rough time. Are you Dr. Rosenburg?"

"No, I'm not Dr. Rosenburg. But, you'll still help me, right?"

"Yeah, I guess. Come on."

Barney and the others went over to a blue storage container. Inside were 6 frozen vortigaunts. One of them thawed, then stared at Barney, angrily.

Barney slammed the door closed as it fired an energy bolt.

"Okay, we've spent enough time here. Try not to scout ahead. The other soldiers might shoot you. Just stay close."

"Roger."

**It's just me, but I think I'll cover the whole damn series...Let me know what you think by a review.**

**Update: I think Chapter 6 is almost done. Remember: The latest updates are always added at the end of each chapter in bold. See you shortly.**


	6. Experiments

Chapter VI. Experiments

**Me again. I hate to keep you waiting, so many chapters were halted due to the mix-up will all be released at once! Also, I had to modify the script to blend it in with the other chapters. Enjoy #6.**

Dr. Cross and Dr. Green walked down a darkened hallway, weapons out.

"What's your suit status?", Dr. Cross said.

"Stable, 80% power, 95% Auxiliary. You?"

"The exact same. According to schematics, we need to take a left."

They both turned left, and found an electrified vent to a sealed bulkhead. Dr. Cross vainly tried to pry it open with her crowbar.

"Damn. If the vent wasn't electrified, one of us could crawl through to the other side."

Dr. Green flipped a nearby switch. The wire died out, a nearby door leading back to Keller opened, closed, and the wire turned back on.

Dr. Cross flipped the switch again, and stuck the door open with her crowbar. The door failed to close, keeping the door open, and the wire dead.

"All set. Simply crawl through. I'll make sure the door stays open. Use your radio."

"Are you sure this will work?"

"As sure as my PHD."

"Fine. When I tell you, just unblock the door."

Dr. Green quickly crawled into the vent, and stepped out into another vent, emptying into a small laboratory. She walked out onto a small bridge.

"Okay, I made it. Unblock the door."

[Roger that.]

Dr Cross took her crowbar out of the door. The door closed, and the wire turned back on.

[I'll wait here for you to override security.]

Suddenly, a portal storm swept over the area. 2 Vortigaunts warped in, one in front of Green, another behind. The one in front pushed Green into the one behind her, which grabbed her arms and held them back. The first one walked up to her, and cackled. It jokingly dangled a claw up her neck and around her face, causing tears to stream down her face.

Sensing the desperate situation, she swung her legs, tripping the vortigaunt, and causing him to fall backwards. The vortigaunt angrily rose up and clawed her across the face, leaving bloody scars on her right cheek. The second vortigaunt cackled, saliva dripping down it's jaw-less face.

"Damn it! Let me go you sick bastards!"

The creatures talked amongst each other. When they finished, the second one thrust Dr. Green to the ground. The second continued holding her down. The first one raised it's arm for a blow directed at her neck, meant to behead.

Dr. Green let out an angry scream. She kicked the second vortigaunt in the head, sending it over the side of the bridge. She rolled out of the way of the blow, then eviscerated the vortigaunt with a blast to the face from the shotgun.

[Dr. Green! What's happening? I heard screaming.]

"I got jumped by 2 vortigaunts. I guess that was me."

[Remind me not to tick you off.]

Dr. Green walked down the hallway into a security office. There were two revolvers and 6 boxes of revolver ammo.

[There's some revolvers with ammo in here. I'll save you some.]

[You'd better. But first, how about deactivating security?]

[Right.]

Dr. Green flipped the switch marked, "Security Override", causing the lights to go out. Green's ears sharpened. She heard a metal thunk-thunk noise outside the security office. She sealed the security door and looked out the safety glass.

Suddenly, the lights flicked back on, and she saw the biggest alien so far. It was slightly larger than her, muscular, and wearing armor plates. It's left arm was shaped like a club, with no fingers, and the right arm had a strange weapon attached to it. It had an arm in it's chest, similar to the vortigaunt. It stared at her for a moment, displaying a full 3 rows of teeth, and glowing red eyes.

The alien clubbed the safety glass, cracking it badly. After failing at that, it raised it's right arm-mounted weapon. 5 hornets flew out of the gun, cracking the glass further. At that point, it gave up, and started pounding on the door.

"Damn it! There's something new after me! It's trying to get in!"

[Did you deactivate security?]

"Yeah, but it isn't processing it! Damn it!"

[You have to hold out until the door opens. I should have thought this out better.]

The door flew off it's hinges. Suddenly, a message came from the intercom:

[Security Override Processed. Opening all doors.]

Dr. Cross saw the door open, and heard Dr. Green scream over the radio, as the hulking alien swatted Dr. Green unconscious. Dr. Cross cautiously watched as it carried Green away on it's armored shoulder.

"Shit! Dr. Freeman, come in!"

[This is Freeman. What's wrong?]

"I've lost Dr. Green. She's been captured."

[Crap. It wasn't one of those weaklings, was it?]

"No. It was some sort of bulking behemoth alien, with armor plating and a strange gun on it's right arm that fires alien hornets."

[Interesting. If the hornets are made inside the gun, then they never need ammo. Of course, hornets can't hurt that much, can they?]

"That's not the point. What am I supposed to do? I made the idiotic decision of splitting up, and it may cost Dr. Green her life…."

[Just calm down. Gina. Do you have any idea where it took her?]

"I don't know. Down some corridor to the right. There's some revolvers and ammo inside a nearby security booth."

[It seems obvious to me. Grab the revolvers, and track him down!]

"Thanks, I feel a lot better now. What would I do without your helping hand?"

[What would I do without your suit?]

"Flatterer."

Renewed, Dr. Cross grabbed the revolvers with ammo. She jogged down the hallway, guns fully cocked and loaded.

Elsewhere…..

Dr. Freeman found a barricaded entryway. Gordon pried the boards off with the crowbar, then shot up two head crabs He walked up to a ladder leading down to a freight elevator entryway.

Taking a path to the right, Gordon found a lever to activate the elevator. Suddenly, a zombie burst through a steel door and grabbed Gordon's arm, pulling and scraping with dismembering force. Gordon reached for his shotgun, and blasted the zombie twice in the face. It finally released his arm and fell over backwards. Inside was another crowbar, with resharpened prongs, and 5 more grenades. Gordon grabbed them, dropped the old, badly cracked crowbar, and left.

He started up the freight elevator. Warning lights sounded, and the freight elevator rose up, along with transfer panel. Gordon quickly got in the elevator, and transferred over to the lowest level. 4 Hound eyes sprinted over, and into Gordon's shotgun.

"God, you'd think that aliens might actually be an intelligent species, but we were all wrong."

Dr. Freeman quickly got onto a freight tram, and punched the transfer button. It blasted on at jolting speed, forcing Gordon to hold onto the panel to stay on the tram. Several aliens attacked, but the tram was too fast, and it ran them over.

Noticing the dead end, Gordon pulled the brake lever, which came off in his hands. Gordon simply screamed as it smashed into the steel stoppers, flinging Gordon into a pile of greenish fluid.

Warning: Hazardous Radiation Levels Detected.

The tram flung him into radioactive ooze. Gordon frantically swam up onto a box, then shot a nearby oblivious Bullsquid. He quickly jumped across the pool of radioactive ooze, then climbed into a pipe to escape the following alien creatures.

Meanwhile….

Barney, along with the soldier and scientist, walked down into an enclosed area. The door leading out was sealed shut, and blocked by a train.

"Hold on. I bet there's a way around."

Barney stepped onto the tram, and smashed several boxes out of the way. Next to the door were 4 tanks of compressed air. The scientist and soldier walked up to him.

"What's the plan?"

"Just stand back, and watch basic science do it's magic."

Barney shot the narrow end of the 4 compressed tanks. They instantly over-pressurized and blasted through the door. Barney charged out, guns blazing, dropping the 3 soldiers guarding another storage. The others carefully followed.

Barney stepped into the storage container. A sleeping scientist was inside. He quickly woke up, and saw him.

"Thank god. A fellow security guard. Get me out of here."

"Are you Dr. Rosenberg?"

"No, but you'll still help me, won't you?"

"I guess."

Suddenly, the door to the next train yard opened, and 5 soldiers ran out, all carrying M4s.

"Crap! Stay put!"

Calhoun ran out and closed the door. Before he could pull out his weapon, a centrifugal grenade exploded, fully renting his armor, and breaking many bones.

He painfully, crawled on the ground, unable to move his legs. He quickly unboxed a machinegun. The soldiers didn't have time to notice before he screamed and mowed them down with miles of bullets. Afterward, he laughed maniacally. Pain-induced dementia was setting in. He pulled himself off the ramp, and onto the warm ground.

"Ha! How do you like that? I'll take you all on with both legs tied behind my backs."

Calhoun deliriously crawled some more, turned over, and passed out from blood loss.

Meanwhile…

Dr. Cross continued down the hallway, blasting two vortigaunts as she ran. She saw the alien drag Dr. Green into the maintenance areas. Dr. Cross quickly charged at the alien and blasted the back of the creature's head. The armor plating deflected the pellets, shredding Dr. Cross's left arm.

Sensing weakness, the armored alien proceeded to deliver a kidney punch to Dr. Cross, sending her flying back into the hallway. The alien's grabbing arm picked up Cross by the neck, threatening to suffocate the poor scientist. Attempts to reach for a gun only resulted in clubbing blows to Dr. Cross. In a desperate attempt, Dr. Cross threw her loaded revolver over to Dr. Green, who was still unconscious.

Tears rolled down Cross's cheeks as she realized her last-ditch plan had failed. She simply looked into the alien's eyes, which burned with intense blood lust She felt the life within her fading….

Dr. Green suddenly stirred to see the creature choking the life out of Dr. Cross. She realized Cross's plan and acted accordingly. She screamed out to the creature:

"Hey, over here!"

The alien turned around, still choke-holding Dr. Cross. Dr. Green pulled the trigger. The .357 caliber slug connected with the creature's head, forcing the alien to drop Dr. Cross. It angrily rebounded on Dr. Green. The alien picked up Dr. Green and force-fed her several hornets, puncturing organs and blood vessels.

Dr. Green's eyes bulged, her pupils dilated, then shrank, then her body went limp. Before she even knew what hit her, the alien was starting to claw through her jugular. Cutting through one layer of skin at a time.

Dr. Cross finally struggled to her feet, and put the shotgun up to the creature's exposed chest cavity, and unloaded all of the shells in her gun into the alien. It dropped Dr. Green, sub-consciously fired off the rest of it's hornets, and slumped over, dead.

Dr. Cross quickly pulled Dr. Green to her feet, and handed her a medkit.

"Dr. Green? Are you okay?"

"Ow. I'll be fine. So, what do we call that thing?"

"I'm thinking just Alien Grunt."

"I'd complain further, but I feel like I just got hit by a hammer."

"Let's go."

Dr. Cross and Dr. Green headed into the maintenance area. They both quickly reset the secondary locks, dealing with minimal resistance along the way.

[Excellent. The secondary locks have been reset. Opening Primary Bulkhead now.]

[Good. Now go to the Primary lock and reset it.]

Dr. Cross and Dr. Green walked out and up the stairs.

Elsewhere:

The soldier and captive scientists run over to Barney, who was still breathing.

"Appears to have lost consciousness. Broken legs, Dementia, blunt trauma."

"I say we just put him out of his misery."

"What? No! We need him! Do you know Dr. Rosenberg?"

"No. Then again, I haven't been here long enough to "settle in"."

"He works on teleportation technology. He could be the key to us getting out of here. Find some morphine. I'll stabilize him."

The soldier considered complaining, then decided against it, finding the morphine in a small medkit next to some security armor. The soldier gave the morphine to the scientist, who quickly finished treating Calhoun.

"Alright. He should be fine in a couple of minutes."

"Yeah, not anymore."

The soldier took Barney's revolver and aimed it at the defenseless scientists.

"What are you doing?"

"You must think I'm stupid or something? I know what you're planning. You'll find Rosenberg, then ambush me. Or maybe you'll force me to kill my buddies at gunpoint. Well, the game doesn't run like that."

The soldier killed one of the scientists, the loud noise of the revolver firing off waking up Calhoun. Before he could get up, however, the other scientist had a hole in his head.

Barney angrily charged the trooper from behind and shoved him to the ground. The soldier rolled over and had the gun knocked from his hand. Barney whipped out the shotgun and put it up to the soldier's mouth.

"Hey! Fuck you!"

Barney jammed the shotgun barrel down the soldier's throat and pulled the trigger, smearing brain chunks everywhere. He angrily took his equipment back, along with the borrowed med kits, then walked down into the next hallway.

He opened the door blocking another storage container. Another scientist was inside.

"Hello? I'm in here? Can anyone hear me?"

"Hold on. I'll get you out of here."

The container was hitched onto a loading tram. Barney got in the tram and moved it back across the tram line. Barney cracked open the lock and walked up to the scientist. Suddenly, 3 soldiers closed the door on him.

[Ha. We got that bastard. What's the status on Freeman?]

"Please, for the love of everything merciful, please tell me you're Dr. Rosenberg"

The scientist looked to up see Calhoun, and took a deep breath.

"(Sigh) Yes, I'm Dr. Rosenberg Though I'm not happy to admit it, considering how I'm partially responsible for all of this."

Dr. Rosenberg stood up, somewhat puzzled.

"How did you know my name?"

"A dying friend of yours told me to look for you."

"Oh, I see. Poor Harold, never saw it coming."

"He said you had some sort of plan for escape. Mind explaining?"

"Yes, we had planned to use the prototype labs nearby to make our own escape by piecing together a teleport that could be used to warp outside of Black Mesa, before we ran into them. Of course, that doesn't do us any good while we're trapped in here, does it?"

"Hmmm. Got any ideas?"

"The ceiling vent looks loose. Maybe, you could get out through the vent, maybe even catch the soldiers off guard. Try this."

Dr. Rosenberg lifted Barney through the vent. He leaped over the wall of the container, and immediately silenced two soldiers guarding the entrance. The third soldier saw it, but took a revolver slug in the neck before he could raise his M4. Calhoun opened the door.

"Come on! Let's go!"

"Alright. We'll need to go back to where you found Harold."

Calhoun and Dr. Rosenberg ran into the manifest control office hallway.

"Hold on, Calhoun. I need to catch my breath."

"Fine, old man. So, what were you doing before this?"

"Me, Dr. Cross and Dr. Green established the uplink used to call in the military. If we had known, we would have looked for different ways to stem the onslaught."

"Alright."

He pulled out his radio.

"Dr. Cross, Dr. Green, I found Rosenberg"

[Good. I hope you're staying in good health.]

"Certainly, thanks to Calhoun. Thank goodness you're still in one piece, also."

[Thank the suits.]

"We'll stay in touch. Okay, let's go, Calhoun. We're almost there."

Rosenberg and Calhoun walked up to a patch of boarded up wallpaper.

"Okay, the access elevator is up here. We'll need to break through the newer construction."

Barney said nothing, but pried open the blockage with the crowbar, and they headed into the elevator.

"We could have chosen the Lambda complex at the other end of the base, but the staff there are intent on fighting off the creatures, placing faith in a Dr. Freeman. Let them fight a war they can't win. I just want to get out of here."

"Hey, don't count him out. I know the guy. Rule #1: Don't underestimate him."

Rosenberg and Calhoun stepped out into the teleport labs entrance.

Meanwhile….

Dr. Cross and Dr. Green entered the observation area for the Primary Conduit lock.

"There is a security system allowing only one person in there at a time."

"So, rock, paper, scissors?"

"No. You do it, Dr. Cross. I've had enough excitement for quite a while."

After both of them grabbed some revolver ammo from a supply closet, Dr. Cross entered the conduit maintenance area. A catwalk extended to a awkwardly-shaped wheel. A ruptured pipe lay overhead.

[Drs, this is Keller. Be careful. The containment pipes have a hole in them right over your head. Most likely, you'll be attacked as you try to reset the dampening locks. Good luck.]

Dr. Cross began turning the wheel. Green resonance flooded the room from the burst pipe. Flying aliens teleported in. They had shriveled bodies, oversized heads, and sharp claws. They had very tiny mouths, which emitted high-pitched shrieks. The instantly descended on Dr. Cross, pelting her with fireballs. She dodged them, and began shooting them with the revolver, burning through all of her ammo.

[A little help would be appreciated, Dr. Green!]

"Give me a minute!"

After a second, she broke out the observation room window and attracted the fliers.

"Okay, do it! Now!"

Dr. Cross reset the Primary lock.

[Okay Keller, the locks are reset.]

[Excellent. Hold on, there's an energy surge.]

Dr. Green let Cross back into the observation room, and they continued to mow down the flying aliens.

"What do we call these?"

"Controllers. Saw it in a movie once."

"Alright."

[Damn it! The system's overloading. Commencing emergency system shutdown!]

A minute later, the resonance lessened, and the lights temporarily went out.

[Damn it! That's the second time in a row the dampening fields failed us!]

"It's clearly obvious that the fields aren't powerful enough."

[Head on back to the tram station and join me. I have another plan.]

"Alright. I hope this works. Frankly, I'm beginning to think that between the soldiers and the aliens, it's the perfect storm."

"Nonsense. These creatures have to have a vulnerability somewhere. If we exploit it, we can force them back."

"Alright. Let's go."

They both left and headed to the tram station.

Meanwhile…

Barney and Dr. Rosenberg walked down the entrance. Barney broke into a small security locker connected to a storage room. He grabbed 3 sets of spare security armor and many 9mm clips. He went into the storage locker and grabbed satchel charges, laser-triggered claymores, grenades, shotgun shells, and revolver ammo. When he finished, he shyly strolled back to a large bulkhead.

"Okay. With any luck, my fingerprint I.D is still valid and on file."

Dr. Rosenberg put his hand on a small scanner. It beeped and the door slid open. They both walked into the teleport labs. 2 scientists were working on electrical wires. One of them looked up at them.

"Dr. Rosenberg, thank *god* you made it. We've prepared most of the larger equipment, but you'll oversee the rest of the equipment."

"Excellent work, Walter. Simmons, get up to the control room. Calhoun, come with me."

Simmons, Rosenberg, and Calhoun walked into the chamber. A large yellow device hung from the ceiling, with a flat receptacle underneath it. Simmons climbed the ladder and walked over to the control room. Rosenberg walked over to a ground level control computer.

"Excellent. The equipment is in far better shape than I expected."

"Good. Let's get out of here."

"It's not that simple, Calhoun. You see, teleporting isn't a matter of transporting matter from point A to point B. It's a delicate and complex equation. There was a borderworld somehow involved into all of this. In order for any of us to get out of here, we'll need your help."

He walked over, and punched in some more buttons.

"Borderworld?"

"Yes. The folks in Lambda call it Xen. We believe that a device utilizing crystals found on the borderworld could be used as a focus emitter, and relay the teleport signal to escape from Black Mesa."

"Alright, so an emitter was placed. What's the problem, then?"

"The research team placed it, but we lost contact before it could be activated. I hate to do this to you, but…..Smithers, turn on the main power!"

Smithers pulled a red lever, and the device activated. 4 lights around the receptacle activated, the device opened up, and a yellow beam of energy came from it.

"You'll have to go into Xen, find the relay, and power it up. We'll try to get you as close as we can, but the likelihood of those creatures trying to stop you is very high."

"A walk in the park, compared to the soldiers."

The power meter to the left was half-full.

"Hey, Gordon. Gordon, you there?"

[Yeah. What's up in your little corner?]

"One small step for man, one giant teleport for Barney-kind."

[What?]

"Dr. Calhoun is about to give the aliens a little house-call."

[Hope the medicine has a lot of Buckshot in it.]

"You know it. I'm going in to activate a relay that could be used to get out of here. What about you, Cross and Green?"

[Peachy. The dampening fields aren't powerful enough, so we're trying something else, via Dr. Keller.]

"Alright. Dr. Keller, any advice?"

[Well, I suggest you keep your head down, your gun loaded, and your objective in sight at all times. Good luck.]

The power meter read a full charge.

"Simmons! Release the dampening locks and open the field."

Simmons pushed a red button. The area in the center became a teleport.

"Go now, Calhoun!"

Barney took a deep breath of air, then charged into the portal. His senses dissolved in a green light.

He landed in a small staging area. There were some young tentacles, and a series of vents. A dead research team member was inside a small crawlspace. Barney pulled him out. He had an empty ammo container. There was no ammo, but a note scrawled in blood that read,

"Before you live, you must walk. Before you walk, you sneak. Before you sneak, you crawl. Crawling is the key. Key is crawling….."

At that point, it turned into a red streak across the rest of the note.

Calhoun sighed, grunted, then crawled into the vent, his backpack barely fitting into the crawlspace. The extra weight didn't help.

"Man. Now I know how a TV dinner feels. Just come on down, have a few laughs."

He slowly struggled through the alien ventilation systems. He then blasted a Houndeye staring down the end of the vent. He struggled out of one vent and into another.

Suddenly, he heard a noise. The vent closed behind him. The ground above him cracked, and a red liquid trickled on his helmet. It was watery blood.

"What sick place has blood for water?"

Barney had an idea. He dug at the crack. The entire reservoir emptied into the vent, washing Barney out of the vent. Barney got up, and spit out the blood.

"Ugh. Not one of my better ideas. Still, could've been worse."

He happened to notice his impeccable luck. He was right in front of the relay! The other team members died from the alien attacks, and were piled up on top of each other. Barney shielded his eyes from the horror, and walked over to the power generator, and turned it on.

**Again, apologies for the script changes. Hope you keep on enjoying the series.**


End file.
